Works of Dale Chihuly at the Dallas Arboretum

The Dallas Arboretum is ablaze with the colors of Dale Chihuly from Saturday, May 6th through November 6th, 2012. The works of the renowned Tacoma, Washington glass artist are installed among the Dallas Arboretum’s abundant flowers. Brilliant works of hand blown glass rise out of flowerbeds, perch atop decorative columns, and emerge from the Arboretum’s reflecting pools and fountains.

Chihuly, a native of the Pacific Northwest, became fascinated with glass as a medium while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduation, he sought admission to the University of Wisconsin, which, at the time, was the sole American university with a dedicated glass program. Chihuly later continued his studies as well as taught at the Rhode Island School of Design. However, Chihuly reached a turning point in his career in 1968 when he was awarded a grant by the National Endowment of Arts which allowed him to work and study at the Venini Glass Factory in Venice, Italy. It was there that he was introduced to the team approach to glass blowing, a technique that he uses even today in his workshop.

Amazing array of colors explode with Dale Chihuly at Dallas Arboretum

The Works of Dale Chihuly at the Dallas Arboretum follows the artist’s passion for what he refers to as “glass houses”, or greenhouses and represents Chihuly’s twelfth exhibit in world-famous garden settings. The artist’s Garden Cycle began in 2001 at Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory, and has included such famous gardens as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, near London. Part performance, part art installation, Chihuly’s works grace the Arboretum’s 66 manicured acres, both on terra firma, as well as in its water features. As guests enter the garden, Icicles, a work in canary yellow glass, comprised over 1000 individual pieces soars skyward while hand blown orbs of different sizes are scattered about like groundcover. Visitors destined for the Women’s Garden, the only garden in the world designed by women, for women, and financed by women, are welcomed by two brilliant works entitled “Sunburst”. As visitors progress into the garden, with its tiered water features, they are stunned by Chihuly’s Reeds in aubergine glass that protrude from the water garden’s placid surface. As visitors wind their way deeper into the Women’s Garden, they are treated to an idyllic view of Dallas’ White Rock Lake. Two wooden boats, reminiscent of Venetian gondolas one filled with glass balls of varying sizes, the other with flame like branches, float peacefully in a reflecting pool facing the urban lake.

Stunning during the day, the Arboretum will be opening its doors to visitors in the evenings, specifically on Wednesday for a series of events and concerts in conjunction with this unique exhibit. As always, the Arboretum is a stunning location for your organization’s off-site event and Outstanding Productions has the team to make your vision a reality. We look forward to seeing you in Dallas this summer.